Tips from a regular girls makeup bag

Sure, celebrities are always touting the contents of their makeup bags and their beauty must-haves. This is all well and good, but when it comes down to it, we’d all look flawless if we had a legion of beauticians applying our makeup every morning. Here in the Big Apple, most of us work ridiculous hours, yet almost never head home directly after work.

When you’re going to bed at 1 am and waking up six hours later to head to the office, it wreaks havoc on your appearance…and it’s only Tuesday! So what’s a girl to do when she has to dress up for work and look her best? I rely on a tried and true routine, no gimmicks and no personal makeup artists included:

1. I always make time for a long shower in the morning, no matter how tired I am. I feel that much more refreshed; normally I use the Whole Foods brand Lavender body wash, but if you want to pamper yourself check out Kiehl’s body wash in lemon verbena; something about citrus-y scents always wakes me up in the morning.

2. I use Laura Mercier’s Tinted Moisturizer with spf 20. It provides a touch of moisture, a hint of color to even out my complexion and an spf to block out UV rays. It’s super lightweight and non-greasy, so it’s perfect for use all year round (I throw on some extra moisturizer underneath during the winter).

3. Now, onto those terrible dark circles under my eyes (if I’m lucky there is no puffiness)! I swear by Sephora brand Cooling Cover Stick in Clair 01. It blends perfectly and is a great under-eye concealer as well as to pat on to any trouble spots. It’s perfectly pocket sized as well and at $12 won’t break the bank, so you can tuck one into your bag for last-minute touch-ups during the day. I think that this may be magic in a tube; my skin is very fair but my sister has super-dark Brazilian-like skin and this is a great under-eye concealer for her too.

4. To finish up my eyes, I use Maybelline Unstoppable eyeliner in espresso on my lower inside lashes only. Then I swipe on a light gold eyeshadow on the inner corner of my eyes (I use Sephora brand Strass No. 17 but any gold that suits your skin tone is fine)….

5. and a light coat of MAC Zoom Lash mascara on my top lashes. If it’s really dire, I’ll swipe some on my lower lashes as well.

6. And finally, blush! I use Cargo blush in Tonga but the color isn’t pink enough for me (although it has good coverage) so once I’ve finished this up I’m switching over to MAC powder blush, as recommended by a friend who has gotten me addicted.

Once I’ve rectified my late night with makeup, I’m almost ready to go. The final step in my routine? The largest cup of coffee I can find.